6:25 p.m., Thursday, January 29. I’m just about to leave the garage at my condo to go pick Jeff up at the Metro. The garage doors open and a red car–is that a Prius?–drives in. I circle around and see that it is, and it’s pulling into the parking space of my ex and still […]
Earlier this week I received the latest annual assessment on my condo from Arlington County. Whoa! My assessment went up by 27 percent from last year, which itself was an increase of 20 percent over the previous year; in Arlington County, condo values have increased at a higher rate the past two years than have […]
Earlier this evening in a climactic battle aboard the Star Forge I defeated the Dark Lord of the Sith, won the heart of the girl (eh, whatever; I still wish there had been an option to pursue Carth instead of Bastila, but I guess that’s why it’s called a roleplaying game), and saved the galaxy […]
Last November, I noted that my television was showing signs of failure, and might need to be replaced. Recently the signs have been mounting. For probably close to a year, the set might work fine for a few days, then out of the blue I can turn it on to find the picture distorted; this […]
It’s beginning to feel like everywhere I turn, I see or hear advertisements for your exciting and innovative new Prius. What I want to know is why you’re spending so much money advertising this car when you can’t even make enough of them for those of us who already have placed orders, and your local […]
OPM finally has decided to dismiss Washington-area federal employees three hours early today, just in time for the new round of freezing rain, sleet and snow expected this afternoon and evening. Actually, the OPM web site has yet to update the official operating status [update: it has since been updated], though we’ve gotten word from […]
My friends David Levine and Kate Yule live in Portland, Oregon. I met David and Kate back in the mid-90s through our mutual hobby of squaredancing. The couple also publish a wonderful, occasional ‘zine, Bento (some issues of which are available online). David is an award-winning, up-and-coming science-fiction writer, nominated last year for the John […]
Sandia Laboratories has decided that we need computers that monitor and tell us how we’re feeling; even scarier, they believe that our computers should snitch on us, telling our colleagues and supervisors how we’re feeling and how those feelings might impact our work. That computer on your desk is just your helper. But soon it […]
Well, it was about the worst possible outcome for me personally. All the local schools are closed. The federal government, however, rather than closing has opened with “unscheduled leave,” which means that you’re supposed to come to work but if you don’t think you can make it you can take leave without having it pre-approved. […]
It’s snowing; in fact, there’s already a noticeable accumulation on the ground. The forecast is for a winter storm warning with a total of between 4 and 8 inches. The worst of it is projected before midnight, then tapering off until around 7am. Too soon to tell, then, if the government might close tomorrow, giving […]